The Tale of the Thief and the Thief Catcher
by Ange de l'eau
Summary: What happens when Lei'ella, the Mistress Thief Catcher, gets an assignment to capture a criminal who has even successfully managed to evade even her for a few days? And what is it that lies at the end of it all? Varden and Lei'ella


**The Tale of the Thief and the Thief-Catcher**

Lei'ella truly rued the day she had joined the ranks of the thief-catchers. Not only was the pay exceedingly low, the hours were long and the job was mentally and physically demanding. Although her elfish linage was something she did not flaunt, the bright side of it was that she had the ability to sense another's presence, something no other race could do.

Under her usually grey cloak, it was almost impossible to spot her amidst the dark shadows of the night except to the most perceptible eye – with the cloak on, she looked like part of the shadows herself. She had only stayed on with her job because she did not want to lose her place in the world. Abandoned as a child because she could not use magic, she was thrown into the dangerous world alone. Ten years ago, she was a lost and hungry child roaming the dirty, foreboding streets. Now, she was Lei'ella, renowned human thief-catcher – and she would rather suffer in silence than lose it all.

Masquerading as a human girl was not something she particularly enjoyed, but she had gotten used to it in the course of the years. It was easier for people to accept her, and it was also safer – a lot of humans, for some distorted reason, detested elves with every core of their ignorant being. So much so, the rare, wandering, undisguised elf ought to be properly protected lest he wanted to end up dead and left to rot in a ditch. She could defend herself, yes, but it was unwise to be blatantly stirring up trouble when she could just avoid it. The humans thought her to be a mysterious girl who was always hooded to cover her eyes, but the truth was that she was covering something else more important – her pointed elfish ears.

The criminal she had been tracking for a few days proved to be elusive. He was one of the rare few that could evade her for a few days. Even so, she could always sense his presence within a hundred miles, which made capturing him easier. Tightening her cloak around her and tucking in the silver strands of hair that was coming loose, she hurried down the dark streets that were only lit by the faint glimmer of moonlight and out of the large iron-wrought gates of the town.

Her golden eyes scanned the grassy hills. Although she could sense another's presence, it would not hurt to be alert. Dangerous mages powerful enough were known to be able to hide their presence from others. Her hand resting on the hilt of her dagger, which was hanging from her hip, she made her way towards the little hills slowly. Who knows what could be hiding in the long thick grass growing on the hills.

Lei'ella heard an animal hoot in the distance. Knowing it was of no threat to her, she went on. The coruscating stars twinkled above her cheerily. Oh, how she wished she were lying right in front of a warm fire… with him, instead of skulking about in the cold, chilly night looking to capture some low-life. No. She had made up her mind already, and she would no change it. Elves – even the ones without any magic in their bloods – and humans could not go together, no matter how fast her heart would start beating when he approached her, or how simply warm and safe she felt in his lean arms.

There you go again, she chided herself mentally. She had already made up her mind and there was no point in changing it now. What good would it do her, thinking about him? It was not like she was ever going to see him again.

Somehow, that thought made her heart heavy. She had a house to herself, yes, but she rarely went there, what more have any feelings of attachments towards it. However, what she felt when she was in his arms was strange. She had never felt that in her whole life before – it felt like… home…

Sighing, she forced herself out of her thoughts and tried to concentrate on the task at hand. Suddenly, she froze in her tracks and stiffened. Too busy dwelling in her own thoughts, Lei'ella had no idea she was that close to her target. Inwardly berating herself for her foolishness, she focused on his presence and tried to pinpoint exactly where he was hiding.

Hand around the hilt of her dagger, she crept closer stealthily towards the clump of bushes at the edge of the forest where she was sure was the criminal's hiding place. One step. Two steps. Three steps. She breathed evenly, not making a sound at all. The leaves rustled. Lei'ella unsheathed her sword silently and held it up, glinting a menacing silver in the moonlight. With feline grace, she moved closer to the quivering bush. She raised her dagger higher, getting ready to strike – for this criminal; she was supposed to kill him. Taking a deep breath and narrowing her golden eyes in concentration, she plunged the dagger downwards.

"Is that how you kill someone? Attacking them from the behind, when they are innocently unaware of their impeding demise? I thought you would do something better than that…" A cool voice interrupted.

Lei'ella's knife sliced through the thin air and paused mid-way. Drawing another dagger out of its sheath, she turned in the direction of the voice, shoulders tensed.

"You!" She gasped, taking a step back and at the same time realising her mistake of concentrating too much on something and forgetting her surroundings – like he knew she would. How he had always teased her on that fact.

The intruder came out of the shadows, blonde hair shining in the night, arms crossed. "What about me?" He asked coolly, looking at her with his startlingly bright green eyes. "Thanks, Jedard. You may leave now." He nodded towards the bush she was so close to stabbing earlier and threw a bag of gold in its direction with unerring aim.

A pale while hand grasped the bag out of the air. Standing up, he glanced at the both of them with a petrified look on his face before he nodded back, head bobbing up and down, and scurried away quicker than they could blink.

"Were you bribing him?" Lei'ella asked incredulously, sheathing her daggers back in smoothly.

"Well, technically, no. You see, he owned me a favour, so we made a deal." He took a step forward and eyeing the expression on her face, he went on. "Is it so difficult to understand? It's a deal. I did no bribing. After all, I am not the one who always talks in a uncomprehending manner."

"I most certainly do not talk in an abstruse manner. Do not be so puerile, Varden." Lei'ella snapped, starting to turn around and walk away from the very person who had been haunting her thoughts everyday for the past few months. It was only her luck – her horribly bad luck – that she had to see him now.

"You are doing it again, Lei'ella." Varden sprang up and nimbly jumped in front of her, blocking her way. "Why is it so difficult for you to just listen to what I have to say?"

Lei'ella merely raised her eyebrow. "Look who's being difficult now?"

Varden just sighed, turning his head to look at the vast expanse of the green grass and the beautifully uneven line of the forest's edge. There was silence for a while, not even the forest animals made any noise.

Her anger was starting to seep away gradually as the minutes passed she shifted slightly from one foot to the other as she felt a twinge of guilt creeping up on her. Maybe listening to him for a while would not be so difficult after all. She just had to keep her emotions – which were currently running very high – in check and her feelings being written all over her face.

Finally, Varden turned to face Lei'ella. It shocked her to see his eyes shimmering with… sadness…? – Instead of shining with their usual playful and mischievous light.

"You still wear your cloak," he said, trying to cover the sadness in his voice from her, but she heard it anyway. Reaching out slowly so she would have ample time to move away if she wanted, he fingered the edge of her grey cloak hood, and seeing no protest from her, tugged it down slowly and gently.

"Well," Lei'ella tried to think of something to say. "You did catch me during my working hours." She attempted a smile to try to lift of out of his sudden dejection but it did not work – he just gave her a small, sad smile in return.

"Do you ever think of the day when I first saw you without your hood?" Varden asked quietly, his lips taut.

How could she forget? It was the day when some berserk dark mage waved his hands in the air and oh-so-happily pulled off her hood – and still being unsatisfied, he stabbed her with a fatal wound using her own dagger. What was worst was that she had never meant for Varden to find out that way. She had intended to reveal to him her secret… someday – she had wanted to be the one to tell him herself, instead of him finding out in such a spectacular fashion.

He had then placed her in the cradle of his arms protectively, shielding her from the mage. Thankfully, one of her faithful companions had the capacity to heal her and she had been woken up from her slumber after that by the gently caress of Varden's hand on her cheek. She had cried then, immensely touched by his generosity to accept her for who she was. That was the first time she had conceded and admitted to herself that she was wrong about Varden – he was not a dirty, cheating, thieving low-life, as she thought previously, but he was much more than that. When she had wanted to put on the cloak again before they set off, he had gently tugged the cloak from her shoulders, sparkling green eyes piercing through her and told her words of wisdom that she'd never expect from him, nor thought he'd possess. _"Besides,"_ he had said. _"I like your ears."_ In a nutshell, she would never forget that for the rest of her life.

"No," she said, mirroring her thoughts. "How could I forget?" By an unspoken mutual agreement, they never spoke of that incident again, and if someone brought it up, they both would look away; as if that would erase the frightening fact that she had narrowly escaped the clutched of Death that fateful day.

"By the looks of everything, I am now surprised you actually remembered my name." Varden said curtly, a grim smile on his face – as if he had injured himself and was trying to smile despite the pain.

That stung. But before she had the change to part her lips in reply, he went on, seeing as though he was talking to himself rather than her.

"I have to apologise, Lei'ella –" Here he gave a mocking little bow. "– Dirty thieves like us don't have any manners at all, and it was truly inappropriate of me to act like this. My apologies, it was my mistake."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Lei'ella's anger was rising again, and it did nothing to help the precautious situation.

"You are actually asking me that?" He gave a harsh laugh, sending chills down her spine. "You know very well what I mean, Mistress Thief-Catcher."

"Stop it!" She cried angrily.

"Stop what?" Varden growled, raising his voice and taking hold of her wrist in a vice-like grip. "Stop talking to you, because my very presence irks you? Stop keeping track of your every movement because I am afraid that goddamned job of yours will get you into trouble one day? Stop trying to rack my head to think of all possible means and ways to get you to listen to me for once, so that things will be back to what they once were? Stop _what_?" He roared, ignoring her struggles and snatching her other hand away and held it as well, for it had been trying to pry h9is fingers off in a desperate attempt to get free. His eyes were flashing with pure rage Lei'ella had never seen before – he was always calm and composed, even in the face of the greatest danger.

Something in her snapped, and Lei'ella could feel tears welling up in her eyes. She stared into the distance, wishing her hood was down – she was determined not to let her tears show.

"Let me go." She said, trying to sound commanding. "Let me go," she repeated, this time in a voice full of defeat. Lei'ella could feel him staring directly at her and she forced herself not to meet his eyes lest he saw what she was trying so hard to hide.

But Varden saw it anyway.

"You are crying." It was not a question, but a statement. When she did not say anything and continued avoiding his gaze, he felt an immense guilt washing over his rage. Varden loosened his grip to the point where it stopped hurting, but he still did not let go. "Did I hurt you?"

Since she refused to look at him, he held her both wrists in one hand and reached out to tilt her head in his direction – his hands could encompass both her wrists easily. Even so, she stared over his shoulder.

"I am sorry, Lei'ella. I truly am." He paused, thinking of what to say next. "I should not have lost control of my temper. It was my fault that I tricked everyone into taking me along on that journey, that I caused all these trouble – but I am not going to say that I regret it, because I didn't. Not one single bit." His tone was desperate – for her forgiveness – and yet, tinged with pure defiance. "I love you, Lei'ella, more than anything in the world." Varden finished softly, his voice as soft as the wind's embrace. That was not what he had planned to say, but it would do too – for it was the utmost truth.

Minutes went by. It was impossible to see what her reaction was as she kept her face impassive, like an enameled angel. Finally, Lei'ella let her gaze slide down to his ever so slowly. It was as if time had stopped and the worlds stopped spinning – nothing existed except each other, nothing mattered so long as they were alive and together.

She threw herself into his arms and sobbed into his shoulder. Instinctively, Varden drew his arms around her, holding her tightly and wishing he could hold her forever and not let her go. There they stood, a lone couple holding each other in the dark night sky, a mere shadow on the hills. Slowly, her sobs succumbed to quiet sniffles.

"But…" She mumbled so softly into his shoulder, so much so he had to strain his sensitive ears to hear it. "What would people say about us, I being an elf and you –"

"I don't care." Varden knew where she was heading and interrupted her resolutely. "I don't give a bloody damn what they will think. It is none of their business, after all."

"And if someone were to try to assassinate me?" Lei'ella sniffled, turning to face his with her streaked face and swollen red eyes.

Unable to stop himself, he brushed the tears off her cheek, ignoring the wet sensation on his shoulder. "With you, Lei'ella, I'd withstand all of hell to hold your hand."

Lei'ella stared at his handsomely serious face and wondered how she could have survived all those years alone if she could not live without him now. "I… I love you too…" She confessed, staring at the grass.

A hand stroked her cheek and made her face him, but before she could even look up into his eyes, his hand slid down her waist in a flash and pulled her lips against his hungrily and lined her body against his. She struggled to free her wrists, and when she did; she put her hands around his neck and pulled him closer.

Lei'ella had not felt anything like this before; every inch of her was on fire, enflamed by the passion and desire that coursed through her veins. All the sensations – his warm lips on hers, his arm possessively on her waist – were making her knees so weak she had to cling onto him for dear life as the oceans and crescendos of passion and love swept her away.

Varden broke away, panting and pressing his forehead against hers. "Marry me, Lei'ella," he said huskily, eyes penetrating through the very depths of her soul.

Looking into his emerald green eyes, trying to catch her breath and seeing all the love he had for her in them, it was all she could do to nod.


End file.
